Chapter 8 Vocabulary Part 1

Robespierre

A French political leader of the eighteenth century. A Jacobin, he was one of the most radical leaders of the French Revolution. He was in charge of the government during the Reign of Terror, when thousands of persons were executed without trial. After a public reaction against his extreme policies, he was executed without trial.

Haitian Revolution

A major influece of the Latin American revolutions because of its successfulness; the only successful slave revolt in history; it is led by Toussaint L'Ouverture.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Overthrew the French revolutionary government (The Directory) in 1799 and became emperor of France in 1804. Failed to defeat Great Britain and abdicated in 1814. Returned to power briefly in 1815 but was defeated and died in exile.

Latin American Revolutions

Series of risings in the Spanish colonies of Latin America (1810-1826) that established the independence of new states from Spanish rule but that for the most part retained the privileges of the elites despite efforts at more radical social rebellion by the lower classes.

Great Jamaica Revolt

Slave rebellion in the British West Indies (1831-1832) inspired by the Haitian Revolution, in which around 60,000 slaves attacked several hundred plantations; the discontent of the slaves and the brutality of the British response helped sway the British public to support the abolition of slavery.

Hidalgo-Morelos Revolution

Socially radical peasant insurrection that began in Mexico in 1810 and that was led by the priests

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

Statement of fundamental political rights adopted by the French National Assembly at the beginning of the French Revolution.

Tupac Amaru

The last Inca emperor; in the 1780s, a Native American rebellion against Spanish control of Peru took place in his name.

French Revolution

The revolution that began in 1789, overthrew the absolute monarchy of the Bourbons and the system of aristocratic privileges, and ended with Napoleon's overthrow of the Directory and seizure of power in 1799.

American Revolution

This political revolution began with the Declaration of Independence in 1776 where American colonists sought to balance the power between government and the people and protect the rights of citizens in a democracy.